Penetrating lubricant



7 Patented Dec. 24, 1935 UNITED STATES PENETRATING LUBRICANT Roy D.King, Jackson Heights, N. Y., assi'gnor to Socony-Vacuum Oil Company,Incorporated, New York, N. Y.,.a corporation of New York No Drawing.Application July 3, i934,

Serial No. 733,

9 Claims.

This invention has to do with lubricant oil compositions of the classknown as penetrating oils, and has for a particular object thepreparation of mobile and highly-penetrative oils of this class.Penetrating oils are most usually used where the moving parts to belubricated are subject to intermittent movement, between which there areperiods of rest, and in general where the unit loading is quite light.As an excellent example of a typical use, thelubricat-ion of all typesof leaf'springs, such as are usedon automobiles,

maybecited- -In-these, the unit load is slight,

the periods of motion between adjoining leaves are intermittent, theclearances are quite close, there are no mechanical means for theretention of lubricant upon the lubricated surfaces, and the equipmentto be lubricated is so exposed to atmospheric conditions that it isquite frequently heavily rusted. A proper penetrating oil should havebalanced properties of low viscosity and high creeping power, so that itcan penetrate between the leaves of the spring, even if they are rusted,it must-be sufliciently non-volatile that after reaching the point ofuse it will not evapcrate, and it must still have sufficient body-tolubricate when motion occurs. Combined with these, it must have a highenough preferential wetting power for the surface to be lubricated thatit will displace rust, or penetrate between flakes of rust, and adhereto the underlying surface. Coupled with this last property is another.wide andtypical field of use of penetrant oils.

.This use isthe application of penetrating oils etc.

' is oil.

,to assembled parts rusted together, to make disassembly easier,such asnuts rusted on "bolts, Other typical and important uses. are for thelubrication of light fabricated metal equipment, such as the metalsliding sash on subway cars, and the like.

Penetrating oils may be broadly divided into two classesthose compoundedwithout graphite, and those using graphite. In those not using graphite,some one of the liquid ingredients fulfills the lubricant function. Inthose using graphite, part or all of the lubricant function is assignedto graphite suspended in the oil. In the extreme case of this type, thepenetrating oil is composed of graphite suspended in a carrier ofpenetrating nature, non-lubricating in properties. Any form of graphitewhich will stay in suspension may be used, the most popular graphiteingredient being the product known as Acheson oildag which is composedof deflocculated graphite suspended in oil, the whole being a paste-likeproduct, only a minor amount of which This product is prepared inaccordance with U. S. Patent 964,478, E. G. Acheson, and is hereinafterreferred to as Acheson oildag.

This invention is based upon the discovery that pine fatty acids can beemployed in the production of penetrating oils, and that when this isdone, in the manner described below, penetrating oils can be producedwhich have notably superior properties of penetration between closelyadj acent surfaces, of penetration through rust films, of adherence tolubricated surfaces, and the like. These pine fatty acids, which I havediscovered to be useful for the purposes discussed herein, areapparently true fatty acids, obtained by fractional distillation offatty matter separated from 10 pine wood in the course of" cooking bythe alkaline process for the manufacture of wood pulp. As an ,indicationof the nature of these compounds, I

may give the following test data.

Specific gravity 60/60 F 0.90-1.00 Moisture .(A.S.T.M. xylol)0.'l0%-0.30% Saponification value (A.S.T.M.) 150-170 Mg KOH Iodine value(Hanus) 40-150 Titer of separated fatty acids (A.S.T.M.) 50-90- Color(A.S.T.M. colorimeter) Dark 8 or lighter Saybolt universal viscosity 100F 100-600 g Flash (A.S.T.M. open cup) 250 F. Min.

Free fatty acids (A.S.T.M.) 90% Min.

Ash .content (ignition) "Trace-0.1%

From theabove data it may be seen that these pine fatty acids do notpartake of the character of other commonlyused pine derivatives, but aretrue fatty acids. They are for instance quite distinct from the fpineoils which are essentially terpene-like in character, and from rosin,which is essentially abietic acid of varying degrees of a purity,abietic acid being of diiferent properties from those indicated above.

I have found that pine fatty acids may be advantageously used as aningredient in superior penetrating'oils of either type. As examples ofpreferred formulae, the following may be cited:

Formula 1 g Percent Pine fatty acids 2 Kerosene 38 Light paraffin oil 60Formula 2 5o Percent Pine fatty acids; 2 34 A.P.I. gas oil 96 Achesonoildag 2 Depending upon the nature of the use to be made of the oils,either ,of these formulae may be varied between wide limits. The pinefatty acids are chiefly concerned with those properties of the oil whichenable it to penetrate, and to adhere. The minimum, amount of thisingredient seems to be approximately one per cent, with desirableproperties increasing with per cent added quite rapidly up to about 3per cent of pine fatty acids, and more slowly thereafter.

The point where increased benefit is oliset by increasing cost ofingredient appears to be about five percent, so the range of pine fattyacid ingredient in both types of formula would seem to be from one tofive per cent. In the nongraphited oils, the respective proportions ofkerosene and light parafiin oil may be varied widely from say per centkerosene to 20 per cent kerosene, the mixture increasing in penetratingability and decreasing in lubricating power with increases in kerosenepercentages. The light paraffin oil indicated is a light lubricant ofsay seconds Saybolt viscosity at 100 F. Lubricants either lighter orheavier may be used, so long as the viscosity of the mixed product isnot sufficiently great to defeat the penetrating object. A portion ofthis mineral lubricant oil might be replaced with an animal or vegetablelubricant oil, but these are not generally desirable due to theirtendency to oxidize or polymerize and form gums and the like. Similarlyin the graphited oils, the proportion of Acheson oildag may be variedbetween say one and ten per cent, although optimum results appear to beobtained at about the concentration noted, namely two per cent. In placeof the 34 A.P.I. gas oil forming the bulk of the graphited penetratingoil, any non-viscous petroleum distillate, such as kerosene, might beused, and a portion of this ingredient might be replaced by a lightlubricant. For instance I might add Acheson oildag to Formula 1 inamounts of from one to five per cent and produce a penetrating oilhighly suitable ior many purposes.

Various laboratory tests may be applied to penetrating oils, such astests aiming to measure surface tension, ability to spread upon metalsurfaces, ability to enter capillary spaces, and the like, but thesehave been found to be singularly barren of results which may be used topredict performance in actual commercial use. To date, the onlyconclusive test of penetrant oils has been the ability to perform agiven job better than competitive oils supplied for the same purpose atcompetitive price levels. Penetrating oils compounded with pine fattyacids according to this invention have successfully met this test ofcompetitive field use. 1

The manner of compounding these oils is merely one of mixing the severalliquid ingredients, no special equipment or precautions being necessary.

I claim:

1. A penetrative lubricant composition comprising pine fatty acids and adeflocculated graphite, and a preponderant proportion of a non-viscouspetroleum distillate.

2. A penetrating lubricant composition comprising substantially equalproportions of pine fatty acids and defiocculated graphite paste, and asubstantially preponderant proportion of a nonviscous petroleumdistillate.

3. A penetrating lubricant composition comprising a non-viscouspetroleum distil'ate to which has been added a proportion of pine fattyacids and a proportion of deflocculated graphite paste, the sum of thelatter ingredients amounting to less than 10 per cent of the total.

4. A lubricant composition comprising Per cent Gas oil i 96 Pine fattyacids 2 Deflocculated graphite paste 2 5. A lubricant compositioncomprising a nonviscous petroleum distillate, a light paraffin oil and asmall proportion of pine fatty acids.

6. A lubricant composition comprising Per cent Pine fatty acids 2Kerosene 38 Light parafiin oil 60

